Dubai Salaries

So what are Dubai salaries like? Sunil here to answer this common, popular question

And the answer is that it varies on several factors.

Dont you just love it when I give you that response?

Well I cant help it.

The response has never held any truer before.

There is no typical salary in Dubai for a given industry, company or position.

There is one thing for a fact, salaries in Dubai for higher level positions are often more attractive than they are in Western, developed countries. Reason being is that you pay no income tax in Dubai. For lower level positions however, salaries are sub par. It is very difficult to save money given the high cost of living in Dubai if you have an ordinary, average job.

Also keep in mind that although this section is strictly focused on Dubai, these salary estimates hold accurate for other the Emirates within UAE, specifically Abu Dhabi (which most closely resembles Dubai).

Passport

Your passport makes a big difference in the salary you command. Western passports (USA, Canada, UK) are typically perceived as being worth more.

It is not the actual passport that is worth more, it is the expectation that someone with Western work experience has good experience and skill-set to bring to the table.

Company Size

Pay can vary up to 50% for the same title position from one company to another given the size. Small companies typically do under $250M in annual revenues. Medium companies do between $250-500M while large companies do over $500M in annual revenues.

Industry type

A Manager position in the Hotel industry will not pay the same as a Manager position in the Financial Services industry. Typically, the steel, oil, gas and finance industries pay the most

Position

The position you come in at determines your new position at your new employer. Needless to say, your position makes a difference in your salary. Higher positions come with more responsibility and often require longer working hours and more flexibility in your schedule.

Company

Dubai is a melting pot not only of people but also of companies. There are all kinds of companies, large, medium, small, local, regional, multi-national, etc. Your salary can also vary based on the type of company you join. Given all else is the same, chances are that a position with a multi-national company will pay more than the same position with a local company.

The key to a good salary in Dubai is to find an employer who is specifically seeking your talent and skill set, rather than an employer who is simply looking to fill in a vacancy. This boils down to the employers needs versus wants. Find one that needs and is looking for you.

Regardless, Kish and I compiled data on Dubai salaries and prepared a spreadsheet with the results. This is not a comprehensive, all inclusive and 100% accurate spreadsheet. Remember there are always exceptions and different norms, not to mention that things change so fast. So use it as a reference, not as an absolute guide to base your future on.

As you read the summary of Dubai salaries, keep the above factors in mind when trying to determine where you fall in the salary spectrum. Again, it is Kish and my intention to give you a rough idea of what salaries are like in Dubai. Do not take our research data as words on stone.

Things change all the time. Rather, use it as a frame of reference. The research data is from various advertisements, forum discussions, Dubai newspapers, targeted email groups as well as conversations with professional recruiters and recruiting firms.

None of the data is from subjective websites or blogs where the author has voiced their opinions. We have compiled a quick summary spreadsheet to illustrate the average salaries for certain positions in Dubai. This spreadsheet is not all inclusive, we could not gather salary data on all positions and industries, so we have not included those.

The salary figures in this spreadsheet are a weighted average number of salary figures from the various sources we researched. For example, if we saw a CFO position paying $10,000 a month in a newspaper, and later saw a similar ad on a forum for $12,000 and then learned from speaking with a recruiter that it is $15,000, we took the average of the three to arrive at a salary of $12,333 per month.

Please let us know of any changes or additions. Our goal is to provide as close of an estimate as possible to anyone looking to work in Dubai in order to help them plan as accurately as possible. You can certainly help us accomplish that goal!